Dynamically configured extraction, preprocessing, and publishing of a region of interest that is a subset of streaming video data

ABSTRACT

A method of preprocessing incoming video data of at least one region of interest from a camera collecting video data having a first field of view is disclosed herein that includes receiving the incoming video data from the camera; preprocessing the incoming video data, by a computer processor, according to preprocessing parameters defined within a runtime configuration file, with the preprocessing including formatting the incoming video data to create first video data of a first region of interest with a second field of view that is less than the first field of view; and publishing the first video data of the first region of interest to an endpoint to allow access by a first subscriber.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The disclosure relates generally to processing of video data and, more specifically, to the selection/extraction, preprocessing/processing, and publishing of video data of a region of interest (i.e., a scene) that is a subset of an entire field of view of streaming video.

BACKGROUND

Cameras are beneficial for use in all areas of commercial and personal practice. For example, security cameras are used within (and outside) commercial warehouses and on private personal property. Other applications use cameras along assembly lines for quality control purposes. With the increases capabilities of cameras having higher quality imagery (i.e., resolution) and a wider field of view, more area can be shown in the streaming video by the camera. A large portion of the frame/field of view may be of no interest to the consumer (e.g., a security or manufacturing company). However, current practices relay the entirety of the streaming video (i.e., the entire frame/field of view) to the consumer, which can be time and resource consuming due to the need to transfer large frame (i.e., field of view), high resolution video data.

SUMMARY

A system and method for selection/extraction, preprocessing, and publishing of video data of a region of interest (i.e., a scene) that is a subset of a field of view of streaming video is disclosed herein. The system and method can also include processing the video data by a consumer/subscriber after the video data has been published.

Streaming video data is received from a camera with a first field of view. The video data is then preprocessed, by a computer processor such as a gateway or digital/virtual container, according to preprocessing parameters defined within a runtime configuration file that is pushed down to the computer processor. The runtime configuration file can be stored and/or edited distant from the computer processor, and any edits/revisions to the runtime configuration file can be pushed to and applied by the computer processor to the streaming video data in real time to alter the preprocessing applied to the video data. The preprocessing can include formatting/cropping the streaming video data received from the camera to create first video data of a first region of interest (i.e., a scene) having a second field of view that is less than (shows less area than) the first field of view shown by the entirety of the streaming video data from the camera. The preprocessing as defined by the preprocessing parameters in the runtime configuration file can also include altering the video data's grayscale, contrast, brightness, color threshold, size, blur, hue saturation value (HSV), sharpen, erosion, dilation, Laplacian image processing, Sobel image processing, pyramid up, and pyramid down (among others). The video data/frame can then be published to an endpoint (such as a topic on an asynchronous messaging library like ZeroMQ) for subscription and use by a first subscriber/consumer.

The first video data can then be viewed, used, and/or processed by the first subscriber. The preprocessing as defined in the runtime configuration file can be tailored to the subscriber and the needs/uses of the subscriber and the processing to be performed by the subscriber. For example, the processing performed by the subscriber after publishing of the first video data/frame may be using an artificial intelligence (AI) model to analyze scenarios occurring on/in the first video data/frame. The AI model may require the first video data/frame to be in a particular size, format, etc., which can be selected and applied during the preprocessing as set out in the runtime configuration file so that the subscriber does not need to perform this preprocessing before applying the AI model. The processing, by a computer processor, of the first video data by the subscriber can be performed distant from the camera, the location at which the runtime configuration file is stored and/or edited, and the gateway/container upon which the preprocessing is performed. The first subscriber can perform the processing of the video data to determine at least one output with the output being indicative of an inference dependent on the first video data. For example, the first video data can be processed by an AI model to determine the amount of a particular product that has passed by on an assembly line (i.e., the amount of the product being an inference dependent on the first video data). The processing can include other operations, such as applying optical character recognition, clipping the first video data to make a video having a specific duration, and/or capturing one frame from the first video data to create a static image of a specific moment of the first video data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic of the scene selection and preprocessing system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of the runtime configuration file.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a gateway/container along with the inputs and outputs of the gateway/container.

FIG. 4 is a display of the scene preprocessing performance metrics.

FIG. 5 is a schematic of potential processing by a first subscriber.

While the above-identified figures set forth one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, other embodiments are also contemplated, as noted in the discussion. In all cases, this disclosure presents the invention by way of representation and not limitation. It should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art, which fall within the scope and spirit of the principles of the invention. The figures may not be drawn to scale, and applications and embodiments of the present invention may include features and components not specifically shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic of system 10 for selection/extraction, preprocessing, and publishing to subscribers of video data of a region of interest (i.e., a scene) that is a subset of a first field of view of the streaming video. System 10 can include camera 12, configuration file 14, gateway/container 16, and publishing location/endpoint 18. Camera 12 can include streaming video data 20 having entire frame 22 with a first field of view. Scenes 24A, 24B, and 24C (i.e., individual regions of interest) can be selected/extracted from entire frame 22 each having a second field of view, a third field of view, and a fourth field of view, respectively, that are less than the first field of view of entire frame 22. Camera 12 collects streaming video data 20 and transfers/sends streaming video data 20 to gateway/container 16. Gateway/container 16 preprocesses streaming video data 20 according to preprocessing parameters defined in configuration file 14 and publishes (i.e., allows access/makes available) the preprocessed video data as first video data 21A (for scene 24A), second video data 21B (for scene 24B), and third video data 21C (for scene 24C) to publishing location/endpoint 18. Subscribers 26A-26D can subscribe to video data 21A-21A of each scene 24A-24C located at endpoint 18 to access each scene 24A-24C.

Scene 24A (i.e., a first region of interest) includes first video data 21A, scene 24B (i.e., a second region of interest) includes second video data 21B, and scene 24C (i.e., a third region of interest) includes third video data 21C that are each dependent upon streaming video data 20. In one example, first video data 21A forming scene 24A (i.e., a first region of interest) has a second field of view that is less than the first field of view comprising entire frame 22 shown by camera 12 (as streaming video data 20).

System 10 can include machine-readable storage media. In some examples, a machine-readable storage medium can include a non-transitory medium. The term “non-transitory” can indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium can store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in RAM or cache). In some examples, storage media can be entirely or in part a temporary memory, meaning that a primary purpose storage media is not long-term storage. Storage media, in some examples, is described as volatile memory, meaning that the memory, does not maintain stored contents when power to system 10 (or the component(s) where storage media are located) is turned off. Examples of volatile memories can include random access memories (RAM), dynamic random-access memories (DRAM), static random-access memories (SRAM), and other forms of volatile memories. In some examples, storage media can also include one or more machine-readable storage media. Storage media can be configured to store larger amounts of information than volatile memory. Storage media can further be configured for long-term storage of information. In some examples, storage media include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements can include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, flash memories and other forms of solid-state memory, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. Most generally, storage media is machine-readable data storage capable of housing stored data from a stored data archive.

System 10 can also include one or multiple computer/data processors. In general, the computer/data processors can include any or more than one of a processor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other equivalent discrete or integrated logic circuitry. System 10 can include other components not expressly disclosed herein but that are suitable for performing the functions of system 10 and associated methods of preprocessing and processing video data and other forms of data. For example, system 10 can include communication means for pushing/sending configuration file 14 from storage media at a location distant from gateway/container 16, such as cloud storage, to gateway/container 16 for execution/implementation on streaming video data 20.

Camera 12 can be any device capable of collecting streaming video data 20, such as a Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) camera or a USB camera. Streaming video data 20 can be video data that is continuously captured/recorded by camera 12 in any suitable format. Camera 12 can be positioned/located to provide streaming video data 20 displaying entire frame 22 with a first field of view The first field of view shown/displayed by camera 12 can be a wide field of view that shows multiple regions of interest. Video data 20 being collected, for example, can show a wide field of view of a warehouse for storing commercial products and/or an assembly line producing commercial products of which each individual subscriber 26A-26D may only be interested in a region/scene 24A-24C that is a subset of entire frame 22. Camera 12 can collect and transfer streaming video data 20 in any resolution/video quality and any format, including (but not limited to) MP4, AVI, FLV, WMV, MOV, MPEG, Motion JPEG, AVCHD, WebM, and/or MKV. Camera 12 can transfer/send streaming video data 20 to gateway/container 16 over any suitable means, including via the internet, short-range wireless technology, or any other type of wired and/or wireless connection.

Configuration file 14 is an editable file that contains preprocessing parameters that define, among other instructions, how streaming video data 20 is to be preprocessed by gateway/container 16 to create video data 21A-21C. Configuration file 14 can include numerous other instructions for gateway/container 16, including which camera 12 to connected to (i.e., receive streaming video data 20 from), what portion of entire frame 22 to select/extract to create scenes 24A-24C (i.e., how to crop frame 22 to create scenes 24A-24C), and at which endpoint 18 to publish the preprocessed scenes 24A-24C. This is discussed in detail with regards to FIG. 2 . Configuration file 14 can be edited/revised and pushed/conveyed to gateway/container 16 for execution in real time (i.e., runtime) such that an editor can revise the preprocessing parameters and those revisions can be applied to scenes 24A-24C at runtime. Configuration file 14 can be an executable program file or have another format for including instructions and conveying information that is then used by gateway/container 16 to apply the preprocessing to video streaming data 20. Additionally, configuration file 14 can be stored in storage media adjacent to and/or part of gateway/container 16 or in storage media distant from gateway/container 16, such as in the cloud. Configuration file 14 can be accessible only by one editor or can be accessible by multiple parties, which may include subscribers 26A-26D who can edit the preprocessing parameters defined by/within configuration file 14 to instruct gateway/container 16 to preprocess one or each of scenes 24A-24C depending on the needs/desires of subscribers 26A-26D, respectively.

Gateway/container 16 can include a computer processor capable of performing instructions provided by configuration file 14, which can include preprocessing parameters that are to be applied to streaming video data 20. Gateway/container 16 can be a gateway node, edge device, container, virtual machine, or other software and/or hardware able to accept configuration file 14 and perform the instructions therein to apply the preprocessing parameters to streaming video data 20. Further, gateway/container 16 can be within a single computer hardware set up due to virtualization. Gateway/container 16 can include one or multiple storage media for storing information, such as the preprocessing parameters pushed/sent to gateway/container 16 by/from configuration file 14 and/or other information like streaming video data 20. Gateway/container 16 can be located at various locations, including adjacent to camera 12 and/or on the same network as camera 12, distant from camera 12 with streaming video data 20 being received by gateway/container 16 from camera 12 via a wired or wireless connection, in the cloud, or at multiple locations. Gateway/container 16 is in communication with configuration file 14 to accept instructions for applying preprocessing parameters. Additionally, gateway/container 16 may be configured to contact configuration file 14 to determine if configuration file 14 has been edited. If edited, gateway/container 16 can perform preprocessing (on streaming video data 20 being received) according to the newly edited configuration file 14.

For clarity, streaming video data 20 is unaltered video data that is received by gateway/container 16 from camera 12, whereas first video data 21A is video data that has been preprocessed by gateway/container 16 (according to preprocessing parameters defined in configuration file 14) to create scene 24A. Similarly, second video data 21B is video data that has been preprocessed to create scene 24B, and third video data 21C is video data that has been preprocessed to create scene 24C. For each of first, second, and third video data 21A-21C, the originating video data is streaming video data 20 (which can be converted to raw video data 20A as described with regards to FIG. 3 below). Each of scenes 24A-24C can be a subset of entire frame 22 and show second, third, and fourth fields of view, respectively, that are less than the first field of view of entire frame 22. However, other scenes can have the same field of view as first field of view of entire frame 22 and instead other editing is performed on that scene besides cropping; for example, that scene can be edited to be in grayscale whereas entire frame 22 of streaming video data 20 is in color.

Gateway/container 16 can be in communication with endpoint 18 to which gateway/container 16 publishes the preprocessed video data 21A-21C (e.g., scenes 24A-24C). The communication can be wired or wireless, such as communication via the internet. However, endpoint 18 can be at the same location as gateway/container 16 or on the same computer hardware set up and/or network. For example, gateway/container 16 can host endpoint 18 on which gateway/container 16 publishes the preprocessed video data/frame 21A-21C (e.g. scenes 24A-24C). Endpoint 18 can be hosted by the container to which all the subscribers 26A-26D can connect. Further, endpoint 18 can be located on the internet with a unique address and/or security protocol that allows for subscription and access to scenes 24A, 24B, and 24C. Scenes 24A, 24B, and 24C can be published to endpoint 18 using an asynchronous messaging library, for example ZeroMQ, such that scenes 24A, 24B, and 24C are published as topic 1, topic 2, and topic 3, respectively. Subscribers 26A-26D can subscribe to any of topics 1-3 to receive video data 21A-21C of scenes 24A, 24B, 24C, respectively. Gateway/container 16 can publish video data 21A-21C of each of scenes 24A-24C to endpoint 18 in any format suitable for use by subscribers 26A-26D. For example, video data 21A-21C can each be published as Motion JPEG or any of the formats listed above with regards to streaming video data 20. The format that video data 21A-21C of each of scenes 24A-24C can be designated in configuration file 14 and applied to video data 21A-21C by gateway/container 16.

Each scene 24A-24C at topics 1-3, respectively, can be subscribed to by any number of subscribers 26A-26D. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , scene 24A has two subscribers 26A and 26B while scene 24B has one subscriber 26C and scene 24C has one subscriber 26D. Video data 21A-21C of each of scenes 24A-24C can be further processed by subscriber 26A-26D, respectively, depending on the desired output/inference to be determined from video data 21A-21C. For example, first video data 21A of scene 24A can be further processed by an AI model to determine the amount of a particular product that has passed by camera 12 (in the second field of view of scene 24A) on an assembly line. This is described in detail with regards to FIG. 5 .

FIG. 2 is a schematic of configuration file 14. Each “component” of configuration file 14 can be one or a set of instructions that, when executed by gateway/container 16, applies a process/edit. Thus, while this disclosure may discuss the components of configuration file 14 as being physical, tangible elements, the components can be one or multiple groups of executable software code contained within configuration file 14. Configuration file 14 includes information regarding camera credentials 28 and preprocessing parameters 30A-30C corresponding to scenes 24A-24C. Preprocessing parameters 30B and 30C can include the same type of information/parameters as preprocessing parameters 30A. However, for simplicity, the possibilities of information/parameters shown in FIG. 2 with regards to preprocessing parameters 30A are not shown for preprocessing parameters 30B and 30C. However, preprocessing parameters 30B and 30C can be the same or different from each other and from preprocessing parameters 30A corresponding to scene 24A. Preprocessing parameters 30A can include topic name/publishing location 32, video format 34, accompanying information 36, and preprocessing pipeline 38 having various video edits 38A-38O. Video edits 38A-38O can include the nonexclusive list of crop 38A, grayscale 38B, contrast 38C, brightness 38D, threshold 38E, resize 38F, blur 38G, hue saturation value (HSV) 38H, sharpen 38I, erosion 38J, dilation 38K, Laplacian image processing 38L, Sobel image processing 38M, pyramid up 38N, and pyramid down 38O.

Configuration file 14 can be edited and pushed/conveyed to gateway/container 16 in real time (i.e., runtime) such that preprocessing parameters 30A-30C (and the other information contained in configuration file 14) can be applied to streaming video data 20 immediately to preprocess and output video data 21A-21C. Configuration file 14 can be stored, edited, and/or pushed/conveyed to gateway/container 16 in any suitable format/file type. Configuration file 14 can include other information/parameters not expressly disclosed herein and not shown in FIG. 2 .

Configuration file 14 can include camera credentials 28, which provides the information needed for gateway/container 16 to connect to camera 12 and/or receive streaming video data 20 from camera 12. Camera credentials 28 can include other information such as encryption/decryption information, security access information, and/or instructions for beginning and/or ending the collection of streaming video data 20 by camera 12. Camera credentials 28 can include information for connecting to multiple cameras 12 and/or information for gateway/container 16 to receive the same or different streaming video data 20 from the same or different cameras 12 for different scenes 24A-24C. In one example, camera credentials 28 are provided once and applied to all scenes 24A-24C. In another example, different camera credentials 28 are provided for each scene 24A-24C and applied to each of scenes 24A-24C individually. Additionally, system 10 can be situated/configured with multiple cameras that provide multiple streaming video data 20 that can be utilized to create different scenes 24A-24C. For example, scene 24A can be video data 21A derived from streaming video data 20 from a first camera, while scenes 24B and 24C can be video data 21B and 21C, respectively, derived from different streaming video data 20 from a second camera. To accomplish this, configuration file 14 would contain camera credentials 28 for each scene 24A-24C (or one camera credential 28 for scene 24A and another, different camera credential 28 for scenes 24B and 24C).

Configuration file 14 also include information specific to each scene 24A-24C. This information/instructions are designated as preprocessing parameters 30A, 30B, and 30C, respectively. Preprocessing parameters 30A-30C are used by gateway/container 16 (e.g., in the form of executable instructions) and applied to streaming video data 20 to create video data 21A-21C of scenes 24A-24C, respectively. Preprocessing parameters 30A-30C can include topic name/publishing location 32, which designates where video data 21A-21C of scenes 24A-24C will be published after preprocessing. As described below with regards to gateway/container 16 and FIG. 3 , publishing location 32 can be a proxy location which is then relayed to unified endpoint 18 to make locating the topic/scenes 24A-24C easier for subscribers 26A-26D. Publishing location 32 can be any other location suitable for providing access to subscribers 26A-26D.

Configuration file 14 can designate video format 34 that each of scenes 24A-24C is to be published at, which can be the same format as streaming video data 20 or any other type of suitable video format, including the formats listed above with regards to streaming video data 20 and/or video data 21A-21C. Scenes 24A-24C can be published having the same video format 34 or different video formats 34. If the format of the video data of scenes 24A-24C is to be changed, the steps of changing the video format can be performed before, during, or after any of the other instructions/steps set out in preprocessing parameters 30A-30C. For example, video format 34 can be changed before, during, or after video edits 38A-38O are performed by gateway/container 16.

Preprocessing parameters 30A-30C can also include accompanying information 36, which is information provided/published with video data 21A-21C for each of scenes 24A-24C. Accompanying information 36 can include any information about first video data 21 that may be of use to subscribers 26A-26C. For example, accompanying information 36 can include first video data 21A frame size, which may be helpful in indicating to subscriber 26A what processing should be performed on first video data 21A of scene 24A; if the frame size is 720 pixels by 486 pixels, first video data 21A of scene 24A may be most suitable for processing by an AI model. Accompanying information 36 can include metadata and/or other information regarding what preprocessing has been performed on streaming video data 20 to create video data 21A-21C for scenes 24A-24C, respectively.

Preprocessing parameters 30A-30C can also include preprocessing pipeline 38 that includes numerous video edits 38A-38O that can be applied to streaming video data 20 to create video data 21A-21C for each of scenes 24A-24C. Preprocessing pipeline 38 can designate the instructions for the entire video edits made to streaming video data 20 for each of scenes 24A-24C. The amount of time gateway/container 16 takes to perform the video edits designated by preprocessing pipeline 38 (i.e., video edits 38A-38O) for each of scenes 24A-24C can be measured, recorded, and displayed as preprocessing performance metrics (see FIG. 4 ). The order in which video edits 38A-38O are performed can be optimized by gateway/container 16 and/or optimized within configuration file 14 to reduce the amount of time gateway/container 16 takes to perform preprocessing pipeline 38. This optimization can be done manually by an editor (e.g., the individual with access to edit configuration file 14) or automatically by system 10. For example, depending on which video edits 38A-38O are to be performed in preprocessing pipeline 38 by gateway/container 16, the order of performance of those video edits 38A-38O can be rearranged to reduce the amount of time gateway/container 16 takes to perform preprocessing pipeline 38. In one example, crop 38A is the first video edit 38A-38O to be performed, followed by other video edits 38B-38O.

Video edits 38A-38O are a nonexclusive list of edits that can be designated in configuration file 14 and performed on streaming video data 20 by gateway/container 16. Preprocessing pipeline 38 can include other video edits not expressly included in the list of video edits 38A-38O. Similarly, not all of video edits 38A-38O need to be performed to create video data 21A-21C of each of scenes 24A-24C, and different scenes 24A-24C can include different video edits 38A-38O performed on streaming video data 20 by gateway/container 16. In one example, only crop 38A is performed on streaming video data 20 to create first video data 21A of scene 24A, while a different crop 38A and brightness 38D, resize 38E, and dilation 38K are performed on streaming video data 20 to create second video data 21B of scene 24B that is different than first video data 21A of scene 24A.

Each of video edits 38A-38O are briefly described as follows. Crop 38A is the removal of unnecessary areas/regions (i.e., regions that are not of-interest to the subscriber) of entire frame 22 having first field of view to create scenes 24A-24C each with second, third, and fourth field of views, respectively. Scenes 24A-24C that have been cropped 38A have fields of view that are a subset of (i.e., less than) first field of view of entire frame 22. Grayscale 38B is the alteration of the color of video data 21A-21C and can include limiting the color to be between white and black. Contrast 38C is the alteration of the difference between the maximum and minimum pixel intensity. Brightness 38D is the alteration in the luminous brightness of video data 21A-21C. Threshold 38E is the alteration of the color of video data 21A-21C by changing the color of select pixels of video data 21A-21C that are above a specified threshold color value. Resize 38F is the alteration of the frame size of video data 21A-21C without cutting/cropping any of the frame out. Blur 38G is the alteration of the clarity of video data 21A-21C, which may be desired for some processing applications, such as an IA model, performed by subscribers 26A-26D. Hue saturation value (HSV) 38H is assigning a numerical readout of video data 21A-21C that corresponds to the color contained therein. Sharpen 38I is altering video data 21A-21C to make the objects therein appear more defined/sharpened. Erosion 38J is altering video data 21A-21C by shrinking pixels and/or removing pixels on object boundaries, while dilution 38K is the reverse of erosion in that video data 21A-21C is enlarged by resizing pixels and/or adding pixels at object boundaries. Laplacian image processing 38L and Sobel image processing 38M are processing techniques known in the art that can be applied to video data 21A-21C. Pyramid up 38N and pyramid down 38O are altering video data 21A-21C by smoothing and/or subsampling as known in the art. Each of scenes 24A-24C can include these and other video edits 38A-38O to be applied by gateway/container 16 to preprocess streaming video data 20 and output as scenes 24A-24C for use by subscribers 26A-26D.

Configuration file 14 can arrange the instructions of camera credentials 28 and preprocessing parameters 30A-30C to be performed in any order, or gateway/container 16 can have the capabilities to arrange/rearrange the information/instructions to be performed in a desired/optimized sequence. Additionally, gateway/container 16 can be configured to perform each set of preprocessing parameters 30A-30C in parallel such that preprocessing parameters 30A, preprocessing parameters 30B, and preprocessing parameters 30C are performed at the same time (and the time gateway/container 16 takes to perform those preprocessing parameters are measured, recorded, and displayed as metrics). While preprocessing parameters 30A-30C can be performed in parallel with one another, preprocessing pipeline 38 (video edits 38A-38O) are performed in series (i.e., in sequence) with one another, with the order that video edits 38A-38O for each scene 24A-24C able to be arranged to reduce the processing time gateway/container 16 takes to perform those video edits. Configuration file 14 can be edited at any time by an editor and then pushed/conveyed/accessed by gateway/container 16 at runtime such that the preprocessing of video data 21A-21C is altered according to the newly edited configuration file 14 at runtime.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of gateway/container 16 (hereinafter, “gateway 16”) along with inputs to and outputs from gateway 16. Each “component” of gateway 16 (and corresponding inputs and outputs) can be one or a set of instructions, programs, processors, storage media locations, and/or other software or hardware used to select/extract, preprocess, and publish video data 21A-21C as scenes 24A-24C. Thus, while this disclosure may discuss the components of gateway 16 (and corresponding inputs and output) as being physical, tangible elements, the components can be partially or entirely contained within software and/or hardware.

Inputs to gateway 16 can be streaming video data 20 (received from camera 12) and configuration file 14, which includes camera credentials 28 and preprocessing parameters 30A-30C. Outputs from gateway 16 can be scenes 24A-24C to unified endpoint 18 (which can be hosted by the gateway 16), which is the location at which scenes 24A-24C are published as topics 1-3, and metrics 40, which is the location at which preprocessing pipeline 38 information (i.e., the amount of time gateway 16 takes to apply preprocessing parameters 30A-30C to streaming video data 20 to create scenes 24A-24C) is published/accessible. Gateway 16 can include raw video data 20A, which is streaming video data 20 that has been published at internal topic 42 and to which gateway 16 subscribes to receive video data used to create each of scenes 24A-24C. Gateway 16 can include preprocessing pipeline optimization and preprocessing 44, which uses preprocessing parameters 30A-30C as defined in configuration file 14 to preprocess streaming video data 20 (accessed as raw video data 20A at internal topic 42) to create scenes 24A-24C. Gateway 16 publishes scenes 24A-24C to proxy location 46 at topics 1-3, respectively. Gateway 16 can then publish/relay scenes 24A-24C (having video data 21A-21C) from proxy location 46 to unified endpoint 18 (which can be hosted by gateway 16).

Gateway 16 receives streaming video data 20 from camera 12 and can publish the video data as raw video data 20A at internal topic 42. This configuration provides for a constant, known location of published raw video data 20A independent of where the original streaming video data 20 is received from. Thus, if the location where streaming video data 20 is being received from changes (e.g., if one camera is disconnected and later the same camera comes online, or a different camera is connected), raw video 20A will still be accessible at internal topic 42 without the need to change where gateway 16 is looking for video data to create scenes 24A-24C, thus ensuring a smooth transition of incoming streaming video data 20. Raw video data 20A published at internal topic 42 can be configured such that only gateway 16 has access.

Gateway 16 can be provided with the information in configuration file 14 (i.e., camera credentials 28 and preprocessing parameters 30A-30C) via a variety of avenues. In one example, gateway 16 has location information of configuration file 14 and actively accesses configuration file 14. In another example, configuration file 14 is pushed/conveyed to gateway 16 once, periodically, or continuously and gateway 16 passively waits to begin preprocessing streaming video data 20 until configuration file 14 has been received. Another example can be a combination of the two above examples in that gateway 16 actively accesses configuration file 14 at the beginning of preprocessing (and continues preprocessing following those known instructions) and configuration file 14 is pushed/conveyed to gateway 16 only after configuration file 14 has been edited/revised.

Gateway 16 can perform pipeline optimization on preprocessing parameters 30A-30C As discussed above, pipeline optimization can be performed by gateway 16 (or another component) to reduce the time gateway 16 takes to preprocess raw video data 20A to create video data 21A-21C (and attach any additional information) of scenes 24A-24C. Pipeline optimization can include arranging/rearranging the order in which video edits 38A-38O are performed by gateway 16.

Gateway 16 can then, according to preprocessing parameters 30A-30C defined within configuration file 14, preprocess 44 raw video data 20A (which is derived from and similar to streaming video data 20) to edit raw video data 20A to create video data 21A-21C of scenes 24A-24C. The preprocessing operations to create each of scenes 24A-24C can be performed individually and sequentially as specified in pipeline 38 for each scene, and multiple scenes 24A-24C are processed in parallel (i.e., simultaneously). The preprocessing performed by gateway 16 can edit each of scenes 24A-24C to the desires/needs of subscribers 26A-26C, respectively. For example, gateway 16 can preprocess raw video data 20A to crop a first field of view of entire frame 22 to eliminate areas/regions of the first field of view that are of no interest to subscriber 26A and keep a second field of view of, for example, scene 24A that is a subset of the first field of view. Thus, further processing by subscriber 26A (or subscriber 26B) does not need to be performed on the areas (regions not of-interest) eliminated/trimmed by the cropping performed during preprocessing. In this example, the cropping reduces the processing time and resources needed by subscriber 26A. The alteration of video format can be included in the preprocessing and/or can be performed before, during, or after the application of other preprocessing parameters 30A-30C.

Scenes 24A-24C, which are made up of raw video data 20A that has been preprocessed according to configuration file 14 to create video data 21A-21C, are published/sent to proxy location 46. Because scenes 24A-24C are continuous video data, scenes 24A-24C are continuously published (e.g., made available) to subscribers 26A-26C, respectively. Scenes 24A-24C can be published/sent first to proxy location 46 and then relayed to unified endpoint 18. Having scenes 24A-24C first being published/sent to proxy location 46 ensures that, no matter what path scenes 24A-24C take, video data 21A-21C of scenes 24A-24C will always end up at proxy location 46 and then be relayed to unified endpoint 18. Because scenes 24A-24C always end up at proxy location 46, unified endpoint 18 always knows the location to access scenes 24A-24C and can actively look to proxy location 46 to obtain scenes 24A-24C or passively wait for scenes 24A-24C to be published/sent to unified endpoint 18. As shown in FIG. 3 , proxy location 46 and/or unified endpoint 18 can be located in/hosted by gateway 16.

During preprocessing operations to create scenes 24A-24C, the amount of time gateway 16 takes to apply all of preprocessing parameters 30A-30C to raw video data 20A to create scenes 24A-24C, respectively, (or the amount of time gateway 16 takes to apply only video edits 38A-38O of preprocessing pipeline 38, depending on the desired measurement) is measured, recorded, and published at metrics 40 for viewing by an editor or any party with access. Metrics 40 can be published using a framework like Prometheus (and then viewable/consumable by other systems, such as Grafana, with an example shown in FIG. 4 ). Alternatively, metrics 40 can be published on an asynchronous messaging library like ZeroMQ (similar to the publishing of scenes 24A-24C). FIG. 4 shows a display of scene preprocessing performance metrics 40A. Metrics 40 can be outputted from gateway 16 to numerous other systems and/or locations, including to the cloud or another location distant from gateway 16.

As shown in FIG. 4 , scene preprocessing performance metrics 40A show a value of time for each of scenes 24A-24C. This value of time displayed is the amount of time gateway 16 takes to apply preprocessing parameters 30A-30C for each of scenes 24A-24C. Alternatively, this value of time displayed can be the amount of time gateway 16 takes to apply only video edits 38A-38O of preprocessing pipeline 38 and not the entirety of preprocessing parameters 30A-30C. This measurement may be desired because the other instructions/information of preprocessing parameters 30A-30C (other than video edits 38A-38O) may not change between scenes 24A-24C while preprocessing pipeline 38 (the video edits 38A-38O being applied) may be drastically different from scene to scene and thus the amount of time for performing preprocessing pipeline 38 may vary greatly from scene to scene.

For example, preprocessing performance metrics 40A in FIG. 4 show an amount of time gateway 16 takes to perform the video edits of preprocessing pipeline 38 for scene 24A as 5.2 milliseconds (ms), for scene 24B as 9.4 ms, and for scene 24C as 3.3 ms. In this example, it may be desirable or necessary to alter preprocessing parameters 30B in configuration file 14 (either remove some edit and/or rearrange the order in which those edits are performed by gateway 16) to reduce the amount of time gateway 16 takes to apply preprocessing pipeline 38 to create/alter scene 24B. As discussed above, gateway 16 can have the capability to optimize the order in which the edits/instructions in preprocessing parameters 30A-30C and/or preprocessing pipelines 38 are performed to reduce the amount of time needed to preprocess/apply the edits/instructions. Thus, preprocessing performance metrics 40A as shown in FIG. 4 may be the shortest amount of time gateway 16 takes to perform preprocessing parameters 30A-30C (or preprocessing pipeline 38, depending on the chosen measuring points).

Scenes 24A-24C can be published from proxy location 46 to unified endpoint 18 as topics 1-3 using an asynchronous messaging library, such as ZeroMQ. Unified endpoint 18 allows for a known, constant location to which subscribers 26A-26C can look to access scenes 24A-24C, respectively. If more scenes are created, those scenes would be published and accessible at unified endpoint 18, so subscribers 26A-26D and/or other subscribers would know where to look to access the additional scenes. Unified endpoint 18 can be located/hosted by gateway 16, as is shown in FIG. 3 .

FIG. 5 is a schematic showing processing 48 capable of being performed on scene 24A by first subscriber 26A. Processing 48 can also be performed on scenes 24B and 24C or other scenes not disclosed herein.

After being published/sent to endpoint 18, scenes 24A-24C are available to be subscribed to and accessed by subscribers 26A-26D. Each scene can be subscribed to by any number of subscribers as is necessary/desirable. For example, a scene may be subscribed to by numerous subscribers each running processing 48 that includes different AI models. In this example, one AI model can be determining the amount of a first product that is passing through the scene on an assembly line, while a second AI model can be determining the amount of a second product that is passing through the scene on the same assembly line. In this case, the scene is unchanged between the two AI models (i.e., between the two subscribers) but the processing performed by each subscriber after the scene has been published is different. It should be noted that one entity (e.g., a person, company, quality control sector) can subscribe to a scene multiple times and thus be multiple subscribers. As discussed above, the preprocessing performed to create/alter each scene can be tailored to the needs of the subscriber(s) to, for example, reduce processing 48 resources and time needed to determine at least one output that is indicative of an inference the subscriber is aiming to ascertain.

The example in FIG. 5 shows first subscriber 26A performing processing 48 on scene 24A. Processing 48, as selected and executed by subscriber 26A (either automatically and/or manually by a computer processor and/or other hardware and software), can include AI model 48A, optical character recognition (OCR) 48B, video clipping 48C, further formatting 48D, and display 48E of the video data of scene 24A. Processing 48 can include other instructions/edits not expressly disclosed in FIG. 5 and listed above.

The disclosed potential instructions/edits that subscriber 26A can perform in processing 48 are as follows. AI model 48A can be a program/model that may have machine learning and can use scene 24A to determine at least one output indicative of an inference dependent upon scene 24A. The inference, for example, can be the amount of a specific product that is viewable in scene 24A over a defined period of time. AI model 48A can also be, for example, a program/model that determines how many people appear in scene 24A over a defined period of time. AI model 48A can include other capabilities and/or configurations. OCR 48B can be a program (or other configuration) that recognizes and records any characters (i.e., text) that appear in scene 24A. For example, scene 24A can be video data of a street and OCR 48B will recognize and record any text that appears on the side of a vehicle, such as a delivery truck, that is in scene 24A. Video clipping 48C can clip the video data shown in scene 24A to create a clip of a defined period of time, and/or video clipping 48C can clip the video data shown in scene 24A to create a static image of a defined moment in time. Further formatting 48D can be video edits, such as video edits 38A-38O in configuration file 14, or any other video or file formatting that are performed by subscriber 26A. For example, further formatting 48D can include cropping scene 24A to be a subset of the second field of view shown in scene 24A. Display 48E can be making scene 24A viewable on a screen or other visual display. Display 48E can also include any video formatting/reconfiguring that is necessary to effectuate the display of scene 24A. While video edits 38A-38O and further formatting 48D to create and/or process video data 21A-21C have included only edits to the video/image, edits can include editing the audio or other aspects of the video data.

The potential instructions/edits (i.e., processing 48) can be performed in parallel or series. Further, processing 48 can be configured such that instructions/edits 48A-48E work together such that one instruction/edit is prompted by an inference from another instruction/edit. For example, video clipping 48C can be configured to work in tandem with another edit/process; if AI model 48A determines that a product is defective, video clipping 48C can be prompted to record and clip a particular duration (or moment to create a static image) of scene 24A showing the defective product and save the clip (or image) for proof/validation.

System 10, with associated methods, for selection/extraction, preprocessing, and publishing of streaming video data 20 into scenes 24A-24C and for processing scenes 24A-24C is used to determine at least one output that is indicative of an inference dependent upon video data 21A-21C. System 10 reduces the preprocessing/processing time and resources necessary for accomplishing the desired output/determining the selected inference. System 10 allows for a streamlined process that extends from collecting streaming video data 20 from camera 12 to making preprocessing scenes 24A-24C available to subscribers 26A-26C for further processing and analysis/determinations. System 10 also allows for measurement, recordation, and viewing of preprocessing performance metrics 40 and optimization of preprocessing pipeline 38 (and/or preprocessing parameters 30A-30C) to reduce the amount of time and resources needed to apply preprocessing parameters 30A-30C to streaming video data 20 (i.e., raw video data 20A) to create video data 21A-21C of scenes 24A-24C.

While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment(s), it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A method of preprocessing incoming video data of at least one region of interest from a camera collecting video data having a first field of view, the method comprising: receiving the incoming video data from the camera; preprocessing the incoming video data, by a computer processor, according to preprocessing parameters defined within a runtime configuration file, wherein the preprocessing includes formatting the incoming video data to create first video data of a first region of interest with a second field of view that is less than the first field of view; and publishing the first video data of the first region of interest to an endpoint to allow access by a first subscriber.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of preprocessing the incoming video data of the region of interest includes applying at least one of the following edits to the incoming video data: crop, grayscale, contrast, brightness, color threshold, resize, blur, hue saturation value, sharpen, erosion, dilation, Laplacian image processing, Sobel image processing, pyramid up, and pyramid down.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: optimizing the preprocessing of the incoming video data by arranging an order in which the preprocessing parameters are applied to the incoming video data to create the first video data.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: publishing the first video data to a topic on an asynchronous messaging library.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the asynchronous messaging library is ZeroMQ.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the runtime configuration file also includes camera credential information and the method further comprises: connecting to the camera according to the camera credential information defined in the runtime configuration file.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the runtime configuration file also includes first video data formatting information and the method further comprises: formatting the first video data according to the first video data formatting information defined in the runtime configuration file.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the runtime configuration file also includes accompanying information regarding the size of the second filed of view of the first video data and the method further comprises: publishing the accompanying information along with the first video data to the endpoint to allow access by the first subscriber.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: preprocessing the incoming video data, by the computer processor, according to preprocessing parameters defined within the runtime configuration file, the preprocessing includes formatting the incoming video data to create second video data of a second region of interest with a third field of view that is less than the first field of view; and publishing the second video data of the second region of interest to the endpoint to allow access by a second subscriber.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: publishing metric data that includes a first measurement of time that the computer processor takes to perform the preprocessing to create the first video data and a second measurement of time that the computer processor takes to perform the preprocessing to create the second video data.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of publishing the first video data includes publishing the first video data to a proxy location as designated by the runtime configuration file and publishing the first video data from the proxy location to the endpoint.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: publishing the incoming video data to an internal topic; and subscribing, by the computer processor, to the internal topic to gain access to the incoming video data.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: editing the preprocessing parameters defined within the runtime configuration file; relaying the edited runtime configuration file to the computer processor; and preprocessing the incoming video data according to the edited preprocessing parameters defined within the edited runtime configuration file.
 14. A system for preprocessing incoming video data for use by a first subscriber, the system comprising: a camera configurated to collect the incoming video data having a frame with a first field of view; a runtime configuration file that includes preprocessing parameters for formatting the incoming video data; a gateway that includes a computer processor, the gateway being configured to receive incoming video data from the camera and preprocess the incoming video data according to the preprocessing parameters defined within the runtime configuration file, wherein the preprocessing of the incoming video data by the gateway creates first video data of a first region of interest having a second field of view that is less than the first field of view of the frame of the incoming video data; and an endpoint to which the first video data of the first region of interest is published to allow access by the first subscriber.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the runtime configuration file includes camera credential information for connecting the gateway to the camera.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the preprocessing parameters include at least one of the following edits to be applied to the incoming video data: crop, grayscale, contrast, brightness, color threshold, resize, blur, hue saturation value, sharpen, erosion, dilation, Laplacian image processing, Sobel image processing, pyramid up, and pyramid down.
 17. The system of claim 14, wherein the endpoint is a topic on an asynchronous messaging library.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein the gateway is configured to optimize the preprocessing of the incoming video data by arranging the order in which the preprocessing parameters are applied to the incoming video data to create the first video data.
 19. The system of claim 14, further comprising: a visual display for visual output of preprocessing metrics showing a first measurement of time that gateway takes to perform the preprocessing to create the first video data.
 20. The system of claim 14, further comprising: a proxy location to which the first video data of the first region of interest is published from the gateway and from which the endpoint receives the first video data. 